Let Me Call You Sweetheart
by PerfectDisaster22
Summary: When Emmett Cullen was converted, he left someone behind. When he's given the chance to reunite, will he take it?


**Author's Note**: This one-shot dates back to February 2009; I wrote it in two days as a way to keep my sanity through the process of burying my grandpa. It's another of my utterly self-indulgent, completely ridiculous little love stories. Pure fluff, because I was in a hopelessly romantic mood. And, of course, completely non-canonical.

Looking back, I'm somewhat embarrassed by this one-shot, and the fandom to which it belongs. I should know better, and I do, but… Emmett… I'm a bit helpless before the beauty that is Kellan Lutz.

* * *

Jacksonville, Kentucky. July 1935.

He stared out the window blankly, looking past the trees as if trying to see all the way back to Tennessee. Hardly a day passed without at some point finding him staring out the northern-facing living room window, trying to remember. Memories of his human life were fading fast, and what he did remember was as fuzzy and fluid as trying to hold water. But he forced himself to focus. He had lost all chance with her; he would _not_ lose all memory of her, too.

Emmett Cullen was twenty years old. He would always be twenty, now— he had been transformed four days before his twenty-first birthday. Maybe he should take that up with Carlisle; it wasn't fair that he'd never be legal to drink.

Until three months ago, he had never left his hometown of Mason, Tennessee. His parents had owned the grocery store in town. He'd had three brothers and four sisters, and a growing brood of nieces and nephews. It had been a normal, typical life. Had he remained human and stayed there, he would have worked in the store, taking over for his parents, married, settled down.

All of that was gone now. And so was she.

Roxanne Isabella Hale had been the only child of Andrew and Elizabeth Hale. Mr. Hale owned the coal mine and was the richest man in town; Elizabeth was the only daughter of Nashville's most successful lawyer. Roxie was the town beauty, beloved by everyone.

Emmett had gone to school with her since first grade, until they graduated high school. And he'd loved her from the first day he'd set eyes on her. How could he not love her? She was beautiful, intelligent, strong, and kind. She'd always stood up for herself and those weaker than she, and had carried herself like a queen. Every boy in school had panted after her, and Emmett had been no different.

But he'd done nothing about it except for stolen conversations when he carried her groceries home for her, and one dance only days before his conversion that was his most treasured memory. How could he approach her? They had nothing in common, and he had nothing to offer her. He was a loner; she was always surrounded by a throng of friends and admirers. She was beautiful and rich, he was… not. So he'd loved from a distance, and in silence.

All his adolescent fears seemed foolish now that there was a truly unbreachable canyon between them.

He wished he hadn't been so afraid. He should've walked right up to her and told her how he felt about her, instead of doing what he'd done.

Emmett had told Carlisle that he'd gotten lost in the woods when the bear found him. That was a lie. Emmett had spent half his life in the forest surrounding Mason. He'd known every tree and stone for twenty miles. He hadn't gotten lost. He had purposefully gone out into the forest, and he hadn't meant to return.

It had been stupidity to think that just because he hadn't made his move on Roxanne that no one would. Mr. and Mrs. Hale had announced their daughter's engagement to the banker's son in April. The next day, Emmett walked into the woods to provoke a grizzly bear.

He had found a bear, all right. And that was how Carlisle had found him. Three days of hell later, and he was everything that Roxie deserved… and everything dangerous to her. He was inhumanly gorgeous, impossibly rich, and the strongest vampire in the world. And he was the most lethal predator in existence.

There was every reason in the world to make sure he never saw Roxie Hale again… and every temptation in the world to do so.

* * *

Edward Cullen sat across the living room, ostensibly listening to the radio, but in reality monitoring his new brother. Though Emmett was managing his incredible strength and newborn urges admirably well, there was a desperation and an unease in him that had Edward worried. Edward's wife of nearly twenty years, Henderson, sat beside him, her head on his shoulder as she whittled another wood statuette, just so her hands had something to do other than drive Edward to distraction.

"How is he?" she murmured, so only Edward could hear.

"Same as always," he replied.

"Still thinking about that girl?"

"Yes. He wants to go to Tennessee, to _hunt_."

"To see her."

"Yes."

Henderson looked up at Edward, her gaze tracing the familiar planes of her soul mate's face. "Does he love her?"

Edward glanced at his brother, thinking. Emmett seemed fixated on the memory of this girl. That in itself wasn't so unusual; they all had human memories that they clung to. But Edward didn't think it was that simple. During the three-day conversion, there had only been one word that Emmett had screamed, cried and murmured over and over again, as a litany, a plea, and a lullaby, and that was _Roxanne_. Since the conversion, though he never spoke of her, there was always some part of Emmett's thoughts consumed with her.

"Yes," he murmured to Henderson. "Emmett loves Roxanne the way I love you."

Henderson's eyes widened, her hands stilled, and her glance darted to where Emmett sat staring out the window.

"If he loves her so much, maybe he should reveal himself to her, add her to the family," she said.

Edward stared at his wife. "Are you out of your mind? Why should she give up a perfectly good human life to become what we are?"

"I think love would be worth the sacrifice," Henderson shot back. "Why should Emmett be alone just because the girl he loves is human?"

"And what if she doesn't love him back?" Edward asked.

"I refuse to believe that Emmett could be this in love if she were indifferent to him," she retorted.

"It's possible," Edward countered.

"Call it feminine intuition, but just you wait and see, Cullen," Henderson said decisively. "One way or another, Roxanne is going to come back into Emmett's life. I'll have a sister yet."

* * *

Mason, Tennessee. July, 1935.

She sat at her writing table before her bedroom window, opened her diary… and couldn't find a single word to write. Instead, her pen fell onto the table as she looked thoughtfully out her southern-facing window, her mind a million miles away.

It was ridiculous to mourn his death, she admonished herself. It wasn't as if he was hers to grieve. In truth, they had been nothing to each other; they hadn't really associated with each other past a handful of conversations walking from his parents' store to her home, despite having attended school together.

But if she was being truly honest with herself, his death was the reason she had broken off her engagement to William Armstrong. It was also the reason she had spent the last three months as a virtual hermit.

In school, Emmett Robert McCarty had always been teased for being skinnier and weaker than the other boys, and not as smart, and a loner. But she had always noticed him for his shy, dimpled smile and his perfect manners. He had filled out after high school until he had an enviable physique— a strong, man's body. She had noticed him at church, or playing with his nieces and nephews, or working at his parents' store— always with a smile and a twinkle in his sapphire eyes.

Her parents had always believed that their daughter's brown curls, violet eyes, clear skin and perfect figure were her ticket out of Mason. They dreamed of seeing their Roxanne a society wife in Nashville, maybe even in Washington, DC or New York City. But the bigger they dreamed, the more Roxie dreamed of settling in Mason with the grocers' son, in a tiny house on the edge of town, and lots of pretty babies.

She had known it was impossible. She and Emmett didn't often speak, except when he carried her groceries home, or passing pleasantries at church. But somehow, those moments with him meant more and made her feel more than any number of dances or automobile rides with William ever had.

There was one night in particular that Roxie knew she would always remember. Every year, the city threw a dance to celebrate the town's founding. It was in April, just days before the announcement of her engagement, and Emmett's death. She had worn a blue dress as per her mother's order, to highlight her curls and her eyes. She had danced with every young man her mother had thrown her at, since William hadn't deigned to come. So the moment Mrs. Hale had been distracted with a plate of refreshments by Mr. Hale, Roxie had left the dance floor to hide beneath a weeping willow on the edge of the town square.

"Running away?"

Roxie jumped at the warm male voice, and turned to see Emmett leaning against the tree trunk. She relaxed upon seeing it was only him, and smiled.

"Hiding from my mother," she confessed.

Emmett returned her smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. "This is a good place to hide."

For a moment they just watched the dancing couples. She was very conscious of how close Emmett stood, but she found that she wanted to lean back into him, to melt into his warmth, to lose herself in his scent. Then, as a new song began, Emmett cleared his throat.

"Would you honor me with a dance, Ms. Hale?" he asked, with his most charming smile.

That smile made Roxie weak in the knees. "The pleasure, Mr. McCarty, would be all mine," she replied.

He held out his hand, and pulled her in when she took it, and then they had what each had dreamt of for months. They danced in the privacy of the willow tree, bound together by the music and their hands and their eyes. As they danced, slowly moving together until they were practically embracing, Roxie began to softly sing the words of the song.

_Let me call you sweetheart,_

_I'm in love with you._

_Let me hear you whisper_

_That you love me too._

_Leave the love-light glowing_

_In your heart so true._

_Let me call you sweetheart,_

_I'm in love with you._

They remained in each others' arms as the song ended, gazing into each others' eyes, neither breathing. Emmett began to lean down, and Roxie tilted her head up. Just as their eyes closed and as his lips ghosted hers…

"Roxanne!"

Roxie gasped and jerked away, looking around dazed for her mother. When she spotted a determined Elizabeth moving through the crowd, she glanced at Emmett and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Emmett smiled faintly. "Matchmaking mamas will not be denied."

"No," Roxie sighed, a blush warming her face. "I'd better go… Thank you for the dance."

She slipped between the willow branches and walked to her mother, never once glancing back and revealing her and Emmett's hiding spot. Had she known this was to be the last time she saw Emmett alive, she would have run back to him and kissed him, and would have told him how she felt about him. But she lost her chance the moment her mother spotted her, and Roxie and Emmett were swept off on their separate destinies, never to meet again.

Then came the news of Emmett's death.

The whole town had been shocked, and saddened; Emmett had been turning into a promising man. But life soon returned to normal, and people seemed to forget him.

Roxie couldn't let him go.

Perhaps she was being foolish, putting too much significance on the loss of her first love. But she couldn't forget him, couldn't get him out of her thoughts. She took to taking long, solitary walks in the woods, and visiting the headstone Emmett's parents had bought. It marked an empty grave; no one had found his body, only his blood. But Roxie came to the headstone nearly every day, to remember the boy she had been falling in love with.

Sometimes she wondered if she wasn't creating a romance out of thin air. But then again… Sometimes she had caught Emmett watching her, and the look in his eyes was so intense that just the memory of it caused her heart to skip a beat and her stomach to tie in knots. Or he would smile at her, and the heat of it would warm her to the bone. Was it really so absurd to wonder if he had thought of her? She knew plenty of men, both in town and around the county, who admired her beauty. Was it so outlandish to think that perhaps Emmett had cared for her, just a little?

Of course it was all a moot point now. Emmett was gone, and no amount of wishful thinking could bring him back. But Roxie took comfort in her memories and speculations and half-articulated wishes. Why, if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough, she could imagine him walking through the woods right now, carrying bags of groceries…

A flash of white caught her attention, and Roxie was shaken. Surely her mind must be playing tricks on her; she must've just imagined that she saw Emmett among the trees.

Roxie jumped out of her chair and ran downstairs. No one was at home, so there was no one to stop her from running into the forest to chase after the apparition.

* * *

_Stupid stupid stupid_, Emmett berated himself as he ran through the forest. Going to see Roxie Hale had been stupid, and ridiculous, and dangerous, and… argh!

But all he had wanted was to make sure she was happy. He had only meant to take a quick peek. He hadn't meant to linger, to stare at her while she daydreamed… But she had looked so beautiful. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

A hunt, he decided. That was what he needed, to take his mind off the beautiful, untouchable human. There had to be some bear in the area…

Half an hour later, Emmett had worked himself nearly back into a state of calm. He had played Cat and Mouse with the bear, more to amuse himself than anything.

He cursed as he lost the animal's trail. He had let the grizzly get too far away from him, and now the thing was headed back towards town. He started running, trying to find the bear before it got too close to the humans. He would not allow another human to become bear bait, as he had.

He froze as he heard a human scream cut short and smelled warm human blood.

He should have run in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Instead, something was pulling him towards the human. She was lying on the ground, her white dress stained with far too much red. He held his breath and flipped her over… and then stared.

"No," he breathed. "No! Roxie!"

He took in her injuries quickly and knew the wounds were fatal. For a moment he wished he could cry, but then he steeled himself. No. He would _not_ let her die because of him.

He gathered her in his arms and began to run, faster than he ever had before. Love and fear drove him on, helped to distract from the maddening scent of her blood. He didn't stop running, but he looked down when he heard a labored sigh, to see Roxie open her eyes and stare at him.

"Emmett?" she asked in disbelief, her voice a mewl of pain.

"Shh," he replied. "I'm here, Roxie."

"I… I'm dead, aren't I?" she gasped out. "And you came to take me to Heaven."

"Don't talk," he whispered hoarsely. "Save your strength."

"You're so cold," she said wonderingly, struggling to focus on him. "Are angels supposed to be cold?"

He said nothing; he merely held her closer. She sighed and closed her eyes as her head made its way onto his shoulder and she clung to him with the last of her strength. And it was like that that Emmett burst into the house, calling for his father.

The whole family came running at Emmett's panicked cry. Within moments, Carlisle had Roxie laid out on the table and was examining her with a practiced eye.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She was mauled by the bear I was hunting," Emmett replied as Roxie gripped his hand. "Carlisle, please…"

Carlisle blinked. "You're asking me to change her?"

"I'd do it myself, but I don't think I could… stop…" Emmett said helplessly, staring down at Roxie, anguish written on his face.

From where he stood in the doorway, it took a moment for Edward to see the girl's face, but when he did, he gasped.

"Oh my God," he breathed.

"Edward? What's wrong?" Henderson asked, touching his arm.

"That's Roxanne," Edward said blankly.

Henderson stared. "What? Roxanne? As in, _Roxanne_ Roxanne? Emmett's obsession Roxanne?"

Edward nodded, stunned. Henderson stared at the girl on the table, who was staring up at Emmett as if she were seeing an angel, and laughed.

"Oh, go ahead and turn her, Carlisle," she said. "Obviously this was supposed to happen."

"Supposed to happen?" Edward asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "It's too much of a coincidence that she just happened to be in the woods when Emmett was there. And isn't it funny… we get Emmett because he was mauled by a bear, Emmett gets Roxanne because she was mauled by a bear…" She smirked and nudged Edward. "See, I told you so. I told you she'd be back in his life."

"You have no proof that she loves him," Edward protested.

Henderson's smirk widened. "I have all the proof I need in the way she's looking at him."

"And how is she looking at him?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.

Henderson's smirk softened into a smile. "She is looking at him the exact same way I looked at you when you found me."

Edward turned to look at Emmett and Roxanne, and had to admit that Henderson had a point. There had been a day almost twenty years ago, in 1919, when Edward had brought a broken, bleeding Henderson home and asked Carlisle to change her. He had looked at her the exact same way that Emmett now looked at Roxanne— as if she was the only thread keeping him tied to the earth, as if she were his only hope and only source of being. And he had to admit that he recognized the look on Roxanne's face, as well, for it was remarkably similar to the way Henderson had looked at him the day he found her.

Henderson grinned. "I told you she had to love him."

While Henderson and Edward were bickering, Carlisle leaned down and bit Roxanne. And the family settled in for three days of screaming.

But that screaming didn't come. Yes, Roxie was struggling for breath, and at times she nearly bit through her tongue or choked in the effort to keep from screaming. But she never made a noise louder than a whimper. Instead she clung to Emmett's hands, and she stared at him so fiercely that she nearly went cross-eyed. And he never ceased talking to her, or stroking her face. Sometimes, when the pain was particularly bad, he would sing to her, a song that must have meant something to them, because he sang and hummed it over and over.

_Let me call you sweetheart,_

_I'm in love with you._

_Let me hear you whisper_

_That you love me too…_

The three days passed, and finally Roxie's heart stopped beating. By that point, Emmett had carried her up to his room, and was lying on the bed with her, just holding her in his arms while she cuddled into him— as much as one can cuddle with an ice-cold marble statue, that is. He glanced down at her and stroked her arm— not rushing her to awaken to her new life, but letting her know that he was still there. She nuzzled her face into his neck, then opened her eyes.

"Hey, Roxie," he whispered, letting her go.

"Emmett," she sighed.

Her voice floored him. It had always been a lovely voice, but now she could manipulate anyone into whatever she wanted, or could make them feel whatever she felt. It was the single most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.

Roxie sat up easily, and turned to face Emmett. Knowing that it was time for The Talk, he sat up and took her hands.

"How?" she asked hesitantly. "How am I alive? How are you here? What just… happened? What-? How…?"

So he began to tell her. About vampires, about the Cullens, about the new life they had been born into. Roxie listened silently, her eyes fixed on his face. When he finished, there was silence for a long moment.

Emmett bit his lip. "You… You believe me, don't you?"

Roxie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I believe you. It's just… God, it's so…"

"I know," he nodded.

Roxie heaved a great sigh. "So… now what?"

"Now you have a choice," he said, trying to mask the fear that she would leave. "You could stay here with us, or… or you could strike out on your own."

She bit her lip. "Could I stay?"

Emmett smiled widely. "For as long as you want."

* * *

Within hours, it was clear that Roxie was Emmett's perfect mate. But he, being somewhat old-fashioned, wanted her to enter the family the traditional way, and he wanted to give her a somewhat normal courtship. So he turned to Henderson for advice.

"Because I'm the girl and I'm supposed to know all about these things, right?" she had grumbled, but she ceased her teasing when Emmett started pleading with her.

Though Henderson was a tease, she was also an invaluable ally when she wanted to be. The new sisters spent most of their time together, as all the Cullen men worked in the clinic together, and Henderson used the time to piece together the best way for Emmett to woo Roxie. Soon, Roxie was getting spoiled with waking up to vases of daisies, midnight star-gazing, long walks through the forest, swims in the river, and spontaneous dances.

It wasn't long before Henderson and Edward were both ordering Emmett to propose, if only as a way to preserve their sanity. Edward said he couldn't take much more of Roxanne's lovesick, yearning thoughts, and Henderson said she wouldn't take much more of Emmett's hesitation. Esme backed them up, and took it upon herself to buy an engagement ring. Edward indulged in his romantic side, which he usually reserved solely for his Henderson, and helped Emmett plan the proposal. Carlisle soon got into the family's scheming, arranging a "business trip" for himself, Esme, Edward and Henderson, and all of a sudden, it was time.

At sunset, Emmett led Roxie outside, and through the woods that shaded their backyard until they came to a nearby creek. Growing by the bank was an enormous, ancient weeping willow. In all the branches and all over the ground were tiny candles, and nestled among the roots was a phonograph. Emmett pulled Roxie through the curtain of leaves and started the record. She laughed softly as she heard the music, as she realized what he was recreating.

_Let me call you sweetheart,_

_I'm in love with you…_

Both got very quiet as the song ended, each remembering the last time they saw each other as humans. Tonight, there was no matchmaking mother to keep them from kissing, from clinging to each other as if they were the only solid things in the world.

"I love you, Roxie Hale," Emmett whispered.

She began to respond in kind, but he stopped her with a finger on her lips.

"Wait… let me get this out, or I'll never say it." He took a deep breath to steady himself, and then he dove right in. "I am in love with you, Roxanne. I have been since the moment I first saw you. And I know it was wrong of me to take away your humanity, to take you from your parents and your fiancé and your life, but… I want to share _this_ life with you. I want to marry you, so I'm yours and you're mine, forever."

A radiant smile broke over Roxie's face. "Oh, Emmett… why did you wait so long?"

He would have responded, but it was hard to talk with Roxie's lips on his, and besides, he liked her way better…

"I broke off my engagement when I heard you'd been killed," she said in a breathless rush. "I must've loved you my whole life, but I didn't see it until you were gone. You didn't take anything from me. But you're giving me everything I always wanted— a family who loves me for me, not my looks… an eternal life with people I love… and you."

She probably would have said more, but that was the point that Emmett pulled her back and crashed his lips on hers in a kiss that said everything for them.


End file.
